Time Warner Cable…Enjoy Better…NOT!

Posted on by

Today’s guest post is by Peppercommer Deb Brown.

bad-customer-serviceTime Warner Cable (TWC) does not understand the definition of customer service. And the company’s tagline “Enjoy Better” is anything but! Over the past few years, when our cable has gone out, days would go by with hundreds of people in my complex calling – including me – to ask when it will be fixed. We never receive a good answer. The first time we went without cable for four or five days, I called the CEO’s office and talked to his executive secretary, who was terrific, and got the cable back on – miraculously – within hours. The second time it happened, I didn’t wait for more than two days, and had to call her. But why should I have to call the CEO’s office to get our cable back on?!

There have been other issues throughout the years, but the one that really did me in and which showed that TWC has actually gotten worse, not better, over the years, is what happened to me recently. I wanted to pay our bill by credit card but I had a question about it. When I got a live representative on the phone, I was told it would be $5 extra to talk to a live person. Are you kidding? I’m supposed to pay you to make a payment if I talk to a live person? How much is it to talk to a dead person?

The woman finally waived the fee since I was aggravated. But, this raises a bigger issue. How does a company like TWC not understand customer service? In 2014, how does any company not understand that it’s all about the customer. In a flash, we can all go to social media and negatively impact your reputation. Just like I’m doing with this blog.

So, why am I still with Time Warner? I definitely want to switch to FiOS, but my husband really likes NY1, the 24-hour local cable TV station, and it’s only on TWC. That is the absolute only reason we still have Time Warner Cable.

But, that time is quickly running out. FiOS – can you start a local 24-hour news channel? Please???

3 thoughts on “Time Warner Cable…Enjoy Better…NOT!”

  2. I switched from Time Warner Cable to FioS last March. It’s definitely been a good thing. Billing is fair so far and the service is improved.

    My final TWC bill showed I was owed a refund of $3.36. Considering how much I’ve been gouged by TWC over the years, I wanted my money.

    Here’s where it gets weird: getting that $3.36 took over 7 months, seven phone calls and two visits to a customer service center, all going nowhere. During two of the calls, TWC said the accounting department had held back the check “for auditing reasons.

    I also sent six emails — one a threat directly to their President that TWC was engaging in consumer fraud and that I had already gotten interest from the NY State Attorney General and NYC Department of Consumer Affairs — before I got that check.

    My wife said that it’s beyond not caring about customer service. Their business model is based on people giving up on fighting the system. If TWC holds back a $3 from a million customers, that’s a decent holiday payout to some mid-level executives, isn’t it?

    Oh, but that’s all going to be OK. Brian Roberts claims that once TWC merges with Comcast, RepMan’s dream company will be born, right?

  3. NY1 is the main reason to stay with TWC… Getting my cable installed when I moved into a new apartment turned into a nightmare that required no fewer than a dozen calls and a few visits.